Target to shutter last of Canadian stores by April 12, leaving market 2 years after entering

Target says it will close the last of its 133 Canadian stores by April 12, a little more than two years after the U.S. retailer crossed the border on its first international expansion.

Target announced in January that it was giving up on the new market and didn't see how it could stop losing money there before at least 2021. The first wave of store closures then started last month.

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Costly regulations, empty shelves and customer complaints about prices were among the problems that hampered the Minneapolis company's expansion. Plus, most Canadians live near the U.S. border and are willing to shop in the United States to save money. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also cut prices to fend off Target in Canada, where Wal-Mart already is that country's biggest retailer.